Today we started our morning super early in order to fit in our tour of the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps and still make it to Prague before dinner. We spent 3 hours touring the camps with a local Polish guide, who's grandfather was actually imprisoned at Auschwitz. It was a very solemn and sobering experience to say the least. I expected the tour to make me cry but I think our guide delivered the information so delicately and informatively that I was able to avoid waves of tears. This was undoubtably one of the most memorable experiences I will ever have. Its one thing to read and hear about what went on in concentration camps and a complete other to see it with your own eyes. I seriously had to keep reminding myself that all the horrific stories we were being told actually took place where I was standing. Auschwitz has been purposely left in as close to it's original condition as possible in order to correctly convey the working and living conditions of the prisoners. We saw where the prisoners slept, worked, bathed, ate, etc. We even went inside gas chambers, punishment cells, and saw the execution walls. I can honestly say that I feel like this experience has changed my outlook on so many things. For one, I was swiftly reminded of how lucky and fortunate I am and from this point forward I am going to have a hard time feeling sorry for myself about any of the little, unimportant dramas in my life. Oh, and I certainly want to remove the word starving from my vocabulary because let's be honest, I have no true concept of what starvation feels like and I probably never will. I can honestly say that I will be forever grateful that I was able to visit Auschwitz.
In order to lighten the mood, once the tour was over we all took about ten minutes of silence to reflect on what we had just seen and then spent the rest of the day watching comedies until we arrived into Prague. As we pulled into the city limits I could feel my excitement building because I have heard so many wonderful things about Prague and I have been looking forward to visiting this city for the entire tour. Let me just say, I was not disappointed. Prague has so much character! We didn't get a chance to do a walking tour because it was dinner time and we had to make our reservations but just the little bit I had seen from the bus wet my taste buds and I knew I had to have more!
After dinner, which was phenomenal by the way, our group decided to head into Old Town where Alan took us around for about 2 hours showing us Prague at night. At first I was annoyed because I thought I would prefer the tour to be during the day but it was so beautiful at night. Prague has all these almost gothic type buildings that are so stunning to look at. It is right by the river and there is just so much to do and see! Once Alan showed us the town we decided to head off and embark on our own little pub crawl. We went to three places in total and had an absolute blast! Prague is known for it's nightlife and it certainly did not disappoint. We ended our evening at a place called 5 story club which was so neat because it was 5 stories high and every floor had a different type of music. There was even an 80s level with a disco floor that lit up when you stepped on it. Being that we are a group of 36 we have so many different tastes of music so this venue suited us very well. I didn't take my camera out that night though so I don't have any pictures to show, but it was fun! :)
Wednesday 8/3 -
Today was our full free day and our foursome (Leisha, Amanda, Kieta, and I) all took full advantage and slept in. We took our time getting ready too and made our way into town around 12:30. It was certainly a late start but it was fine since we had all day and night to explore without having to be anywhere at a certain time. We spent the day wandering in the city and as usual just soaking up all that it had to offer. Take a look at some of the pictures of Old Town.
Amanda and I ended up on our own after accidentally getting separated from Leisha and Kieta and found ourselves in a tattoo & piercing parlor. For several months now I have been contemplating getting my cartilage (the top of my ear) pierced again and decided a few weeks ago that I would like to get it done while I'm in Europe. However I hadn't been able to find a place that had good prices, spoke English AND seemed clean until I got to Prague. Once I found a place, I was so excited!! Evidently Amanda is terrified if needles though so I ended up having to go alone, but I got my ear pierced and I love it!
Anyway after my ear piercing, we made our way over to the famous Charles Bridge and ended up renting a paddle boat for an hour and it was by far our best decision of the day. It was beautiful scenery and super relaxing. We even paddled by a really cool restaurant on the water that had live music that ended up being our location for dinner.
We ended up at the restaurant on the river for several hours listening to the most amazing guy sing cover band music. The scenery was sensational! It was the absolute perfect way to end a lovely day in Prague.
Thursday 8/5 -
Today, much to my dislike, we left Prague and began on our journey to Germany. I know I should be more excited about going to Germany but I just liked Prague so much that I didn't want to leave. In all honesty, I would say Prague and Istanbul are equally my favorite cities on this trip. Mostly because I can see myself being able to live in both cities and because they are each so full of their own unique character.
We just had a mid morning stop in Dresden, Germany for a few hours and it was lovely! It did rain for the first half of it, but the history if Dresden is enchanting and the city itself is as well. Take a look!
Now we are off to Berlin where we will be spending the next two nights. We have a lot planned for Berlin as well so I am excited to see what another wonderful city holds for us!
Love,
Lindsay
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Auschwitz, Poland / Prague, Czech Republic / Dresden, Germany
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